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Public Health Leaders on Underage Drinking

by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.

Public health, education and law enforcement leaders believe that
alcohol consumption by individuals aged nine to 15 "is a major,
worsening problem in the United States." That, according to
a poll of 250 reputed "experts." 1

They may be leaders and they might even be called experts, but
their perceptions are inconsistent with the empirical facts. Federal
surveys repeatedly show that underage drinking and alcohol-related
problems are actually decreasing. In short, the so-called experts
are wrong. 2

The leaders also overwhelmingly believe that it's increasingly
easier for young people to get alcohol than ever before. However,
two recent surveys have reported that it is actually easier for
young people to buy marijuana than beer. Again, the "experts"
are wrong. 3

These leaders, while incorrect in their perceptions, are nevertheless
important shapers of public opinion and thus perpetuate the myth
of an underage drinking epidemic. Unfortunately, this promotes the
misperception also held by young people that "everyone's doing
it" and that they need to in order to fit in with others.

The poll was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for a
group called Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free. The activist
organization is funded in part by federal tax money.